Tor

Tor is an encrypted anonymising network that makes it harder to intercept internet communications, or see where communications are coming from or going to.

In order to use the WikiLeaks public submission system as detailed above you can download the Tor Browser Bundle, which is a Firefox-like browser available for Windows, Mac OS X and GNU/Linux and pre-configured to connect using the anonymising system Tor.

Tails

If you are at high risk and you have the capacity to do so, you can also access the submission system through a secure operating system called Tails. Tails is an operating system launched from a USB stick or a DVD that aim to leaves no traces when the computer is shut down after use and automatically routes your internet traffic through Tor. Tails will require you to have either a USB stick or a DVD at least 4GB big and a laptop or desktop computer.

Tips

Our submission system works hard to preserve your anonymity, but we recommend you also take some of your own precautions. Please review these basic guidelines.

1. Contact us if you have specific problems

If you have a very large submission, or a submission with a complex format, or are a high-risk source, please contact us. In our experience it is always possible to find a custom solution for even the most seemingly difficult situations.

2. What computer to use

If the computer you are uploading from could subsequently be audited in an investigation, consider using a computer that is not easily tied to you. Technical users can also use Tails to help ensure you do not leave any records of your submission on the computer.

3. Do not talk about your submission to others

If you have any issues talk to WikiLeaks. We are the global experts in source protection – it is a complex field. Even those who mean well often do not have the experience or expertise to advise properly. This includes other media organisations.

After

1. Do not talk about your submission to others

If you have any issues talk to WikiLeaks. We are the global experts in source protection – it is a complex field. Even those who mean well often do not have the experience or expertise to advise properly. This includes other media organisations.

2. Act normal

If you are a high-risk source, avoid saying anything or doing anything after submitting which might promote suspicion. In particular, you should try to stick to your normal routine and behaviour.

3. Remove traces of your submission

If you are a high-risk source and the computer you prepared your submission on, or uploaded it from, could subsequently be audited in an investigation, we recommend that you format and dispose of the computer hard drive and any other storage media you used.

In particular, hard drives retain data after formatting which may be visible to a digital forensics team and flash media (USB sticks, memory cards and SSD drives) retain data even after a secure erasure. If you used flash media to store sensitive data, it is important to destroy the media.

If you do this and are a high-risk source you should make sure there are no traces of the clean-up, since such traces themselves may draw suspicion.

4. If you face legal action

If a legal action is brought against you as a result of your submission, there are organisations that may help you. The Courage Foundation is an international organisation dedicated to the protection of journalistic sources. You can find more details at https://www.couragefound.org.

Submit documents to WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks publishes documents of political or historical importance that are censored or otherwise suppressed. We specialise in strategic global publishing and large archives.

The following is the address of our secure site where you can anonymously upload your documents to WikiLeaks editors. You can only access this submissions system through Tor. (See our Tor tab for more information.) We also advise you to read our tips for sources before submitting.

wlupld3ptjvsgwqw.onion

Copy this address into your Tor browser. Advanced users, if they wish, can also add a further layer of encryption to their submission using our public PGP key.

If you cannot use Tor, or your submission is very large, or you have specific requirements, WikiLeaks provides several alternative methods. Contact us to discuss how to proceed.

SUMMARY AND COMMENT
-------------------
1. (C) With the next Chief Executive election planned for the
first half of 2007, concerns about public acceptance of
government revenue and spending policy are playing a
heightened role in advance of the unveiling of the 2006-07
budget, which will take place on February 22. Hong Kong's
economic performance is expected to be above trend for the
third year in a row, and the small budget surplus that
emerged last year looks set to be repeated. Consequently,
calls are growing among Hong Kong's population for a tax cut.
However, Hong Kong's reliance on accumulated surpluses to
underpin its currency coupled with a volatile revenue base
suggests that any significant revenue cuts offered now might
have to be made up later, and in a more painful fashion,
during what many believe will be an inevitable downturn --
both cyclical and structural -- in the HKG's fiscal
condition. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT
BUDGET COMING NEXT WEEK
-----------------------
2. (SBU) Financial Secretary Henry Tang's February 22 budget
speech will likely reveal a small revenue surplus for the
second year in a row, thanks to recently strong economic
performance -- 8.2 percent GDP growth in 2004 and an
estimated 7 percent growth for 2005. Amidst higher interest
rates (i.e., higher mortgage payments), it is no surprise
that many in the income tax-paying middle and upper classes
have taken a look at current trends and decided they would
like some money back in the form of a tax cut. There is
widespread speculation that Tang will at minimum deliver a
one-time tax rebate, and that he may go even further than
that.
LONGER TERM STRUCTURAL CHALLENGES...
------------------------------------
3. (SBU) While the budget may look flush at first blush,
there are underlying structural weaknesses that make a tax
cut problematic, given that revenue collections are highly
dependent on the economic cycle. The tax base remains narrow
here. Income taxes and various fees account for most
government revenue, and yields from these sources move up and
down with economic performance and property value swings.
Further, around 20 percent of fiscal intake comes from highly
volatile non-tax sources such as land sales and interest
rate-sensitive returns on accumulated surpluses.
4. (C) This unstable revenue environment funds a government
that must meet the needs of a society with one of the world's
lowest fertility rates, and the aging of the population
promises increased health care and social welfare costs over
time. Consequently, behind the headlines and editorials
calling for tax cuts, there is a quieter agreement among
government officials and analysts that Hong Kong will in the
longer run need to stabilize its revenue base with a
consumption tax (now under consideration) and perhaps fund
increasing health care costs with new contributions.
... CANNOT BE IGNORED
---------------------
5. (SBU) Surpluses were the norm in Hong Kong until the Asian
Financial Crisis, global high-tech downturn, and SARS put
government finances under severe pressure after 1997, peaking
with a deficit of 6 percent of GDP in the 2001-02 budget.
Chronic deficits are a special concern here because an
erosion of accumulated fiscal reserves would threaten
confidence in the peg of the Hong Kong dollar to the U.S.
dollar, which is backed by those surpluses. The necessity of
bringing the budget back into balance forced Hong Kong to dig
out of its recent deficits in part by reining in expenses,
including making painful cuts over the years to civil service
employment and compensation.
A DIFFICULT CHOICE
------------------
6. (C) Taking all this together, there is a strong case to be
made that tampering with cyclical surpluses is a tradeoff
between collecting revenue now, when times are good, or
HONG KONG 00000687 002 OF 002
making it up at a more painful juncture in the future, when a
downward cycle might well raise the prospect of chronic
deficits, forcing a tax hike at an economically painful and
politically inopportune time. Given that the HKG is already
expected to be forced to strengthen its finances by
introducing a consumption tax, any compounding of that
sensitive move with a further tax hike or painful expenditure
cuts would create significant political tension down the
road.
IMF WEIGHS IN
-------------
7. (C) The IMF cautioned against cutting taxes this week, and
a contact there told us that he hoped coverage of a report
released by his organization would help Tang avoid giving in
to public pressure. Citigroup Analyst Joe Lo shared with us
his research note titled "Candy First, Bitter Pills Later,"
where he concluded that the HKG probably has some time amidst
the strong economic cycle to make small tax cuts and modestly
increase expenditures -- but painful fiscal reforms to
address public health care and social welfare issues are
inevitable.
Cunningham

Raw content

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 000687
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EAP/CM AND EB
MANILA PASS AMBASSADOR PAUL SPELTZ
TREASURY FOR DAS DLOEVINGER, OASIA-GKOPEKE
USDOC FOR 4420
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/17/2031
TAGS: PGOV, ECON, EFIN, HK, CH
SUBJECT: TAX CUT PRESSURE AS NEW BUDGET LOOMS
Classified By: EP Section Chief Simon Schuchat; Reasons: 1.4 (b/d)
SUMMARY AND COMMENT
-------------------
1. (C) With the next Chief Executive election planned for the
first half of 2007, concerns about public acceptance of
government revenue and spending policy are playing a
heightened role in advance of the unveiling of the 2006-07
budget, which will take place on February 22. Hong Kong's
economic performance is expected to be above trend for the
third year in a row, and the small budget surplus that
emerged last year looks set to be repeated. Consequently,
calls are growing among Hong Kong's population for a tax cut.
However, Hong Kong's reliance on accumulated surpluses to
underpin its currency coupled with a volatile revenue base
suggests that any significant revenue cuts offered now might
have to be made up later, and in a more painful fashion,
during what many believe will be an inevitable downturn --
both cyclical and structural -- in the HKG's fiscal
condition. END SUMMARY AND COMMENT
BUDGET COMING NEXT WEEK
-----------------------
2. (SBU) Financial Secretary Henry Tang's February 22 budget
speech will likely reveal a small revenue surplus for the
second year in a row, thanks to recently strong economic
performance -- 8.2 percent GDP growth in 2004 and an
estimated 7 percent growth for 2005. Amidst higher interest
rates (i.e., higher mortgage payments), it is no surprise
that many in the income tax-paying middle and upper classes
have taken a look at current trends and decided they would
like some money back in the form of a tax cut. There is
widespread speculation that Tang will at minimum deliver a
one-time tax rebate, and that he may go even further than
that.
LONGER TERM STRUCTURAL CHALLENGES...
------------------------------------
3. (SBU) While the budget may look flush at first blush,
there are underlying structural weaknesses that make a tax
cut problematic, given that revenue collections are highly
dependent on the economic cycle. The tax base remains narrow
here. Income taxes and various fees account for most
government revenue, and yields from these sources move up and
down with economic performance and property value swings.
Further, around 20 percent of fiscal intake comes from highly
volatile non-tax sources such as land sales and interest
rate-sensitive returns on accumulated surpluses.
4. (C) This unstable revenue environment funds a government
that must meet the needs of a society with one of the world's
lowest fertility rates, and the aging of the population
promises increased health care and social welfare costs over
time. Consequently, behind the headlines and editorials
calling for tax cuts, there is a quieter agreement among
government officials and analysts that Hong Kong will in the
longer run need to stabilize its revenue base with a
consumption tax (now under consideration) and perhaps fund
increasing health care costs with new contributions.
... CANNOT BE IGNORED
---------------------
5. (SBU) Surpluses were the norm in Hong Kong until the Asian
Financial Crisis, global high-tech downturn, and SARS put
government finances under severe pressure after 1997, peaking
with a deficit of 6 percent of GDP in the 2001-02 budget.
Chronic deficits are a special concern here because an
erosion of accumulated fiscal reserves would threaten
confidence in the peg of the Hong Kong dollar to the U.S.
dollar, which is backed by those surpluses. The necessity of
bringing the budget back into balance forced Hong Kong to dig
out of its recent deficits in part by reining in expenses,
including making painful cuts over the years to civil service
employment and compensation.
A DIFFICULT CHOICE
------------------
6. (C) Taking all this together, there is a strong case to be
made that tampering with cyclical surpluses is a tradeoff
between collecting revenue now, when times are good, or
HONG KONG 00000687 002 OF 002
making it up at a more painful juncture in the future, when a
downward cycle might well raise the prospect of chronic
deficits, forcing a tax hike at an economically painful and
politically inopportune time. Given that the HKG is already
expected to be forced to strengthen its finances by
introducing a consumption tax, any compounding of that
sensitive move with a further tax hike or painful expenditure
cuts would create significant political tension down the
road.
IMF WEIGHS IN
-------------
7. (C) The IMF cautioned against cutting taxes this week, and
a contact there told us that he hoped coverage of a report
released by his organization would help Tang avoid giving in
to public pressure. Citigroup Analyst Joe Lo shared with us
his research note titled "Candy First, Bitter Pills Later,"
where he concluded that the HKG probably has some time amidst
the strong economic cycle to make small tax cuts and modestly
increase expenditures -- but painful fiscal reforms to
address public health care and social welfare issues are
inevitable.
Cunningham